MOUNT HOPE, W.Va. — A Mount Hope man was arrested after allegedly attempting to run a woman off the road, pointing a gun at her, and leading multiple law enforcement agencies on a pursuit that ended in a crash, according to Mount Hope Police Chief S.M. Jasper.
The incident began around 5:37 p.m. on November 6, when a black SUV stopped near the Mount Hope Fire Department and the driver reported that a white Monte Carlo had tried to force her vehicle off the road. She told Chief Jasper the male driver also pulled a gun on her after she stopped.
As she was speaking with the chief, Jasper saw the Monte Carlo approaching from behind and attempted to pull it over. The driver accelerated toward the Midtown Terrace Apartments, prompting Jasper to radio Fayette County E-911 for backup.
Knowing the apartment complex had only one exit, Jasper waited at the entrance for additional units. The suspect reportedly circled the complex twice before stopping within a foot of the chief’s cruiser. When Jasper approached and ordered the driver out of the car, the man — later identified as Robert Nathaniel Gowins (WV F999639) — allegedly raised a black Taurus G2s pistol, then sped away across the grass, ran a stop sign, and nearly struck another vehicle.
Jasper briefly lost sight of the Monte Carlo, and multiple agencies joined the search. A West Virginia Division of Protective Services unit later spotted the vehicle speeding on Packs Branch Road. Moments afterward, officers were notified that the suspect had crashed near Packs Branch Baptist Church, just past the railroad tracks.
Gowins was taken into custody at the crash scene and read his Miranda rights. Police say that when he was brought into the Mount Hope Police Department, he kicked Chief Jasper in the leg. Patrolman W.M. Jackson transported him to Plateau Medical Center for evaluation and then to Southern Regional Jail.
The woman later provided a written statement, telling officers that Gowins attempted to run her and her child off the road, then approached her SUV and tapped his pistol on the vehicle before fleeing.
The incident occurred within the Mount Hope city limits in Fayette County.